Slipping away
by Tempted Sacrifice
Summary: Tears trickled down her face as she heard a soft wail, which came from the room above her head, but luckily for her, the others didn't seem to hear it. If anything happened to them, at least their boy would be safe. *Torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom.


**Slipping away**

**҉**

Shuddering slightly, Alice Longbottom moved closer to the fire. Arms circled her waist and she turned to smile at her husband, leaning into his touch. Her frown dispersed out when he kissed her forehead gently, his lips lingering on the soft skin for a moment.

"I love you." He whispered, smoothing out her hair from her face, trailing kisses all over her face, and she melted in his arms. She turned around and stood on her toes, brushing her lips over his. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she brought him closer, kissing him more passionately. Her tongue slipped inside his mouth and…

**BANG! **

They broke apart, and Alice spun around, but before she got the chance to react, she was flung against the wall and as her head hit its target, she could faintly hear Frank call her name before it turned into a bloodcurdling scream. She tried to rise up, but her body was aching all over and her eyelids were so heavy she couldn't even see what was happening around her.

"Are you hurt?" A female voice whispered in her ear, sweeping hair from her face, fingers lingering on the blood that had started to cake in her brown locks. "Poor little half-blood."

A mocking laugh, loud and cruel rang through the room, and nails scraped across her skin. The trails stung, and she was sure that the woman had drawn blood.

Fingers closed around her short hair, and tugged harshly. Alice screamed, her already pounding head hurting even more. The grip loosened, and she relaxed slightly, but as coppery air hit her nose, she immediately tensed again. She forced her eyes to open, only to see her husband lying a few feet away, blood oozing through the white shirt, darkening the light fabric.

She tried to scramble up, but a hand held her down, nails digging through the skin of her shoulder and she slumped against the wall, her breathing heavy and ragged.

"Please." She whispered, fisting her hands and biting her bottom lip. Tears trailed down her pink face, and she tried to rise again.

"Oh, this isn't even half of it." The woman said and came into view, and the first thing Alice noticed was the black frizzy hair and black eyes, glinting madly in the half-dark room. Tongue swiped over red lips, teeth barred as Bellatrix Lestrange leaned in closer, her face only a few inches away from Alice.

She could feel her heart drumming in her chest and fear coursed through her body, pumping in her veins.

"Stand up!" The black-haired woman barked, and Alice tried to do as she was said, but her legs seemed to fail beneath her, and she fell back to the floor. "Pathetic." Bellatrix sneered, and tilted her head backwards.

"Love, could you help out over here?" She called out in a sickly sweet voice, and a black-haired man was by her side in a second, a wicked smile on his lips. "She refuses to stand for me. Do something Rudi." The woman pouted, as green eyes turned to look at Alice, who tried to press herself against the wall, hoping that she could disappear.

"I shall help you with that." The man winked and bent down. His face was very close, and Alice couldn't help but notice that he was a very handsome man with his wavy hair, straight nose and thin face. Her eyes widened as his hand closed around her neck and squeezed lightly.

"Such a lovely throat you have; so long and pale. Perfect for what I have in mind." He said, and tightened his hold, and she struggled to breathe. She tried to scream when he started to lift her, his palm pressing her tightly against the wall as the juncture between his thumb and index finger pressed against her jaw, making her gag.

In the background she could hear Frank screaming still, his voice hoarse. His words didn't make sense, and her heart ached. She wanted to be with him _so_ badly, somewhere far away, just the two of them with their baby-boy. Her heart stopped.

_Neville!_

She started to struggle even more vehemently, but the hold around her throat tightened, and it felt like the man would soon crush her windpipes, if he continued. When she was standing on weak limbs, he let go. As she took in gulps of air, she pressed her palms against the wall, holding herself up, not wanting a repeat performance of what had just happened.

Tears trickled down her face as she heard a soft wail, which came from the room above her head, but luckily for her, the others didn't seem to hear it. If anything happened to them, at least their boy would be safe.

"Crucio!" The curse came out of nowhere, and as her bones were being crushed in her body and her skin set aflame, she fell to the floor, a scream ripping out of her throat, and it felt like a hundred of hot knives were stabbing every part of her body, though it was more concentrated in her throat. It felt so raw and dry that she had to struggle to get enough air inside her lungs. Black spots appeared in her vision. She felt like she would pass out any second, but suddenly the pain vanished, and she was left twitching on the floor, feeling very sore and exhausted.

But she didn't get to recover before the jet of blue light hit her again. She clawed at her throat as screams forced their way out. Her nails scraped her skin everywhere, trying to get rid of the fire liquid running through her.

It continued like that for Merlin knows how long, and soon Alice found herself losing track of time, not knowing if it was seconds, minutes or even hours. She tried to think of her husband, who was lying next to her. His voice had long since disappeared, and was rolling around, banging his head on the floor and scratching at his face. She tried to think of Neville, whose cries were loud and his crib was rattling, scraping against the wooden floor.

"Should we do something about the little one?" Another black-haired man, shorter and more robust than the other man asked, slightly out of breath. As they had cast curse after curse, torturing them, laughter had escaped their lips, high and shrill.

"NO!" Alice screamed, even though it felt like sandpaper was rubbing her bloody. She tried to lift her body from the floor, but found out she couldn't even more her fingers, and so she just lay there helplessly, not even able to help her son.

Yet again, pain erupted in her body, though something felt different this time. Her mind felt blank, as if someone had turned it off, and she panicked as she felt everything slip away from her. She tried to grasp onto them, but they vanished as she touched them, and she tried to swallow, her eyes frantically rolling in their sockets. She looked at her husband, and her heart took a frightened leap as she saw that he was just lying there, twitching occasionally.

_No, Frank! Wake up, please. Neville needs us, I need you. This can't… What is happening? Why do I feel so much pain? Who… Who are those people? And… What?_

Her vision disappeared completely as she slipped away, letting the darkness embrace her.

_Who are you?_

It didn't sound right.


End file.
